The More You Know: Germany and Marijuana

With the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) making its first appearance in Berlin in April, it is good for attendees to get up-to-date on the latest cannabis developments in Germany. Like many places across the world, marijuana is moving more and more mainstream in Germany with some major political advancements. Also, like many places around the globe, positive change can come much slower than it should.

Thelocal.de delivers German news in English and ran the piece “Five things to know about weed in Germany” covering: who can smoke; when will it be legalized; how much can you possess; how widespread is marijuana use; and what about stoner culture. From www.thelocal.de:

Who can smoke?

In the country of 81 million people, about 650 patients had been legally granted permission to use medicinal cannabis products from pharmacies as of spring of 2016.

How much can you possess?

The amount that an individual can possess without being prosecuted varies across the 16 states. In capital city Berlin, the rules are much more liberal, with the possession limit being 15 grams in most cases. In many other states, the limit is six grams.

How widespread is marijuana use?

A Eurostat study for 2015 showed that more German young men smoke weed than young women with roughly 18 percent of men aged between 15 and 24 reporting using cannabis in 2012, compared to a little more than 10 percent of women in that age group.

As cannabis law reformers know, it is often two steps forward and one step back, but the most important thing is to keep making progress. With recent political progress in Berlin and Düsseldorf, Germany is poised to legalize cannabis in the near future, but it will take a lot of work on several fronts. We hope that the ICBC will help add to the momentum in Germany and the country will see an increase in the number of patients, the mainstreaming of cannabis use overall and soon, legal cannabis commerce among adults. The future of the German cannabis industry is very bright and advancements in the European Union powerhouse will only help our international fight to end cannabis prohibition.